Government

Poor air quality in the Upstate could prevent new businesses and business expansion in the region if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reduces allowable ground-level ozone levels, according to a state Department of Health & Environmental Control official.

Gov. Nikki Haley’s plan to fix the state’s crumbling infrastructure includes a 59.7 percent increase in the gas tax over three years, a marked shift from what she has said to media and in public addresses.

The state needs to diversify its transportation revenue, and one way it might do that is by raising the $300 cap on vehicle sales taxes, according to S.C. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ted Pitts.

South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s director Catherine Templeton announced her resignation to the DHEC board Thursday. Her resignation is effective Jan. 12.

Immigration experts were divided about the potential economic impact for the Upstate from President Barack Obama’s executive order that would protect about 5 million people nationwide from deportation for three years.

Most companies aren’t making drastic changes in order to stay on the right side of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but the law continues to make employers at mid-size companies with 50-99 full-time employees nervous.

The South Carolina Department of Commerce is reporting the state’s leading index lost 0.11 points, recorded a 4.5 percent increase in residential real-estate activity, and issued 59 fewer residential building permits during June.

State agencies and city law enforcement say the mobile app and ride-sharing company is operating illegally.

Columbia-based Voterheads will now allow residents of Greenville and Spartanburg counties to track local government and receive alerts through its social media platform.